Say It Ain't So

In the latest Gadfly, Rick Hess describes how the latest PDK/Gallup poll shows a large share of the public knows jacksquat about charter schools. In fact, majorities of those polled think charters are non-public schools that are free to charge tuition, teach religion, and select students based on performance. I'm not exaclty surprised. Even in states, like Michigan, with relatively strong charter penetration, the vast majority of school districts don't have charter schools located within their boundaries, so there are a lot of parents and educators--not to mention the bigger number of people who have no kids and no connection to education--who have very little reason to know anything about charters. Rick also thinks it's surprising that Gallup shows a majority of those polled still think charters are a good thing "despite" the misconceptions they hold about them. I'm glad to learn Gallup respondents were positive on charters, but I have to question Rick's suggestion that people would be more bullish on charters if they had the facts. In particular, I'm guessing that, given the rates of religiousity among the American people, a lot of people probably perceive it as a good thing if they think charters can teach religion. That doesn't mean the charter movement shouldn't try to better educate the public about charter schools, but I don't think we should assume all the exisiting misconceptions undermine public support.